Day: October 29, 2021

Female Founders: Sarah Bolt of Forth On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman…

Female Founders: Sarah Bolt of Forth On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Believe in yourself — Some women can suffer from a lack or self-belief and feel as if they are not qualified to lead a business or deserving of investment. Imposter syndrome and this feeling of inadequacy needs to be crushed as quickly as possible. A person’s inner saboteur can be fatal to growing a business and female entrepreneurs need to believe they are good enough. Afterall, how can you expect investors to back you if you don’t back yourself.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Bolt , CEO & Co-founder Forth.

After completing a Masters Degree in behaviour change at the University of the West of England which was followed by a period of time working as a strategy planner in the Healthcare sector, Sarah took a leap of faith and founded Forth. In 2020 Sarah won Health & Wellbeing Entrepreneur of the Year for Wales, at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

When I turned 40 I was working as a NPD Manager for Dyson, commuting 3 hours a day whilst trying my best to be a good mum to two young boys. Life just wasn’t working and it certainly didn’t feel enjoyable. My career has always been important to me and I didn’t want to give that up, but I asked myself what kind of imprint would all these hours working, leave on society, what would be my legacy? I decided that I wanted to move into a sector that had more purpose, one that could benefit from the 20 years marketing experience that I had spent working on global brands. Healthcare was the sector I set my sights on, so I gave up my job, enrolled on a part-time masters degree in Social Marketing (marketing for social good), whilst at the same time getting some temporary contracts with the NHS, working on behaviour change campaigns. Seven years after making that jump I founded Forth.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Just before the Covid pandemic hit, I kicked off the company’s second investment raise (bad timing I know). I started pitching to investors telling them about this fantastic product that we were developing called Female Hormone Mapping which was going to revolutionize women’s understanding of their hormones and provide much needed certainty to the perimenopause audience. I’d been living perimenopause for the previous 5 years so had first-hand experience of the challenges women face. I presented to one 50+ male investor who agreed that we did have a great opportunity but that the company didn’t have sufficient resources to make it a success but he did, and rather than investing in the business could I license the product to him instead!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I’m not sure that there really were any funny mistakes in the first couple of years, not because we didn’t make mistakes but at the time they didn’t seem very funny. One lesson I did learn in the early days was never to be too ambitious on how much work you might get done on your family holiday. On the first holiday after we’d started the business, a bottle of water leaked in by bag during the flight and my laptop spent 3 days drying out in the Tuscan sun. On the second holiday my son dropped a can of fizzy drink over my laptop resulting in cleanup operation to get the keys working again and another 3 days drying in the sun. Lesson learnt — remember there are times when you do need to leave the work at home and give some time to your family.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Totally agree, and as a founder it is definitely detrimental to adopt a silo mentality. I have reached out to mentors throughout my start-up journey, who have filled different support functions at different times. But I would never have been able to embark on this journey without the support of my partner who supported me at two crucial points, firstly to resign from my job and enroll on a Masters Degree, and then to put it all on the line again to start the business. I think founders have higher appetites for risk but at the end of the day we all need someone who is a constant to lift us during those lows.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

Yes, although progress has been made we are still chasms apart from our male counterparts. In my experience two things are definitely holding women back. Firstly, you can’t escape the fact that the majority of Angel investors are 50+ white males and VC investment committees are mostly made up of men. There is definitely a difference in gender attitudes and approach. Research indicates that male founders are largely asked questions around size of opportunity whilst with female founders the questions are primarily focused on risk. Added to this is the female trait of not ‘bigging up’ their own achievements. Sometimes women can be their own worst enemy by not having enough confidence in their abilities. Times are changing though and I’m seeing more female led investment funds and a growing opportunity to invest in female led business particularly in certain sectors such as Femtech.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

On the one side VCs need to appoint more women to their investment committees so there is more of a balanced view of the companies they chose to invest in and the questions they ask. On the other side as a society we need to see more female role models held up in the media and in business circles. This will start to normalize female entrepreneurship, so it is perceived as an option for any woman rather than a selected few. I believe we all have a role to play in giving girls and women the confidence to believe in themselves and that anything is possible.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Well let’s start with the obvious, women are great multi-taskers and you’ll certainly need that in the first stage of any business. Also women tend to start a business in areas that they feel passionate about which make them not only dedicated to making the business a success but also making sure that they don’t cut corners. Finally, and I know I am generalising here, but I believe women tend to concentrate more on the ‘Make it’ rather than the ‘Fake it’.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

I think the word entrepreneur is associated with a certain glamour but the reality is far different. It’s hard and you will spend more hours working than you ever had before. You’ll also need to be prepared to turn your hand to literally anything from negotiating investment raises one day to taking out the bins the next.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

I think the greatest trait you need as a founder is resilience. You are going to experience some fantastic highs but these will be combined with some awful lows. You need to brush yourself down, put a plan in place and forge ahead. And you will need to do this time and time again. Is everyone cut out for this? Probably not, but more women could be if they had greater confidence in themselves.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?”

Resilience — I mentioned this earlier but you can’t underestimate how important it is for an woman founder to possess strong resilience which gives them the ability to bounce back time and time again. You’ll need this not only to face the often brutal investment journey but also you can be sure that alongside your business successes will sit a number of business failures.
Get a mentor — I’ve found advice from others who have trodden the start-up pathway and have come successfully out the other side invaluable. You learn so much in the first 5 years and having that kind of insight in the early stages helps to spring board your journey and avoid mistakes. I think it is also healthy to change your mentor or have a couple at the same time so you can hear different viewpoints. However, it is always worth remembering that whilst listening to advice is always important, you are the expert in your business, so while you can be steered by advice from others, don’t let it drown out your own opinion.
Believe in yourself — Some women can suffer from a lack or self-belief and feel as if they are not qualified to lead a business or deserving of investment. Imposter syndrome and this feeling of inadequacy needs to be crushed as quickly as possible. A person’s inner saboteur can be fatal to growing a business and female entrepreneurs need to believe they are good enough. Afterall, how can you expect investors to back you if you don’t back yourself.
Never stop learning — As a successful entrepreneur you must know your business and your market inside and out. It’s crucially important for tech business and anyone evolved in new evolving markets, like healthtech, to keep forging ahead, to not only keep abreast of new innovations but to be at the forefront of leading new innovations. You stand still at your peril.
Don’t stop talking to investors — Raising money can be a long and exhausting experience which will divert your time away from the business. Founders are often relieved when they complete an investment round and put it to the back of their mind until the next time. This is a mistake. Investment raising always takes twice as long as you think so you must start having those conversations as soon as possible. I’ve learnt that it’s better to have on-going conversations/check-ins with potential investors, keeping them appraised of how the business is doing so when you come to raise they are already warm to the businesses potential.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Our mission is to turn people into citizen scientists by giving them the knowledge and information they need to navigate their way to better health. At the beginning to achieve this we started by giving people easy and quick access to biological testing of their body’s key biomarkers for good health with results displayed on an intuitive dashboard which supports people in how to improve.

I wanted to empower people to learn more about their own unique bodies and in doing so encourage them to adopt better behaviors and take greater responsibility for remaining healthy. I believe companies like Forth are changing the face of modern healthcare by giving people greater ownership of their own health.

Today our goal is to put a greater focus on trying to help close gender health inequalities. Our first project has been to give woman better insight into female hormones, particularly for women who are going through the perimenopause.

I am proud to say that the Female Hormone Mapping product is launched. It is a ground-breaking product which combines AI with blood analysis to predict how a woman’s hormones fluctuate throughout their entire cycle, unique to them rather than on a single day which is current clinical practice. It’s a game-changer for woman particularly those who want the certainty of entering the perimenopause, a time of life, where woman are unfortunately lacking sufficient support.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Closing the gender data gap within healthcare is a key area where I would like to see big improvements made. To date a large amount of modern healthcare/pharmaceutical is based on evaluation/trials in men, with the assumption that women bodies will present/react in the same way. We now know that there are huge differences, for example in how women present with a heart attack which means that women are more likely to die than men because doctors don’t recognise the symptoms. More women only clinical trials could make a huge difference in the healthcare for women. And as women make up halve the population that a pretty big number who would benefit.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I get inspired by different people at different times. At the moment this person would be Professor Sarah Gilbert the woman behind the Oxford vaccine who despite her own best commercial interests insisted that it was distributed on a not-for-profit basis until Covid-19 loses its pandemic status. Remaining true to her strong moral compass of making a positive social impact rather than personal gain, is one I hope to hold onto and is a key reason why I started Forth.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Female Founders: Sarah Bolt of Forth On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Debra Cleaver of VoteAmerica On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as…

Female Founders: Debra Cleaver of VoteAmerica On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Extreme patience. You can’t predict the future. Things may work out exactly as you’d planned, but far more likely, they won’t. You will encounter roadblocks, changes, nay-sayers, critics, exhaustion, and failures. These things are inevitable. But if you trust your gut and believe in what you’re building, you’ll get where you’re going eventually.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Debra Cleaver.

Debra Cleaver is the founder and CEO of VoteAmerica, a nonpartisan national nonprofit leveraging research-driven campaigns to register and turnout the 100+ million Americans who are traditionally excluded by partisan outreach efforts. Debra is a serial founder whose organizations include Vote.org (2016), ElectionDay.org (2018), Long Distance Voter (2008), and Swing the State (2004). Debra is an alum of Pomona College and Y Combinator, and a former Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship.

The second presidential general election I was eligible to vote in was 2000. Even if you’re not a political junkie, surely you remember that presidential election: George W. Bush, Al Gore, and the “hanging chads.” I was watching the returns late at night, after most of my friends had already gone to bed believing that Florida had gone blue, when suddenly a box of ballots was found in Broward County and everything changed. After a recount and several weeks of legal battles, the state was ultimately declared in favor of Bush. Watching the process unfold, I felt unnerved on so many levels, but what upset me most was that all of it stemmed from low voter turnout. Such low turnout, that the outcome of an American presidential election could be decided by the results of just one single county.

We’re still feeling the effects of that election’s fallout, having established a new low standard of confidence in our election systems. I have a bias toward action, so witnessing this inspired me to do something about it, to somehow help ensure that our future elections would be more safe, secure, and most importantly, a fully honest reflection of the population. We all seem to have this vague sense that there are people addressing major systemic problems, but that’s often not true. If you can’t name the person who is actively working on fixing as issue, then it might as well be you.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

When I was first getting started in 2013, I was contacted by an independent research group which analyzes voter registration data. At the time, I was still working full-time at MySpace. I’d started this vote-by-mail group as an after-hours hobby, a way to blow off steam really.

This group had called to verify what the budget had been for my efforts (only about $5,200). They assumed I must’ve left off a zero because apparently the work I’d done had ultimately registered more than 100,000 voters. I’d inadvertently run one of the top 20 biggest voter registration campaigns in the country, on a fraction of the budget spent by others. There were groups who literally spent millions of dollars annually driving voter registration. I’d only spent about 80 hours of my personal time on the whole thing.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made was not realizing I was forming a company in the first place! When I first built Long Distance Voter, I didn’t recognize that I was forming what ended up becoming a critical part of the infrastructure for Vote.org. Before I paid myself a single dollar, I’d created what became the most authoritative source of information not just for voting by mail, but voting period.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from Sam Altman, who was at the time the President of Y Combinator. I’d been accepted into the Summer 2016 class of the organization, which provides seed funding and 3 months of intensive mentorship to select startups. About 10 weeks into each term is Demo Day, when all of the companies get the opportunity to pitch their product or service to a privately invited group of investors. Only a handful of nonprofits participate in Y Combinator and due to legal regulations, we’re the only ones allowed to ask for money during our 1 minute onstage. I needed $600,000 to properly fund what I wanted to accomplish at Vote.org, which I thought was an incredibly large sum. Several people advised me against directly asking for the investment, to instead focus on highlighting my organization’s cost-efficiency. It was Sam who told me to get up there and do exactly what I needed to. “People are going to raise millions of dollars today, for things that are far less important than U.S. democracy. If you need $600,000, don’t beat around the bush. Just ask for it. And in the future, never ask for anything less than exactly what you need. Ever.” That was a game changer.

Female founders are held to impossibly high standards. Men who have great ideas are seen as visionary. They’re funded for their ideas and potential alone. Whereas women who have great ideas are expected to also demonstrate at least a decade of proven accomplishment, or else we risk being seen as unprepared, unseasoned, just not ready for the challenge. It creates a chicken vs egg scenario. We need to prove what our vision can accomplish without funding, which can be almost impossible to achieve without the funding.

Men get funded for ideas alone, while women have their competence questioned every step of the way.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

As individuals, we need to recognize and correct the gendered differences between our expectations for male vs female founders.

Most male founders have a female partner at home, that is taking care of everything outside of work, often while also working a job themselves. The house, the children, their emotional wellbeing.

As females, we need to support other female founders. We’re held to the impossibly high expectation that we not only need to show significant success, competence, and drive, but also be nurturers. When considering some of the most successful male founders, their interpersonal demeanor almost never comes up. Yet female founders are expected to be warm & fuzzy at all times, then constantly criticized for our tone.

We all need to have an eye for these disparities, speak up, and push back.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Women generally have a deep well of expertise that we don’t even recognize in ourselves. Without even acknowledging it, many women are able to have a successful professional career, while putting in the extra hours at home too.

Also, representation matters. The image of a founder is typically that of a techie in a hooded sweatshirt. The more we recognize successful women Founders, the more easily we can picture ourselves in that role as well.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

We idolize founders. They’re seen as larger-than-life visionaries capable of accomplishing things greater than we mere mortals can even dream of. But the truth is that the most successful founders can likely only do two or three things extremely well. The ability to bring their vision to life is necessary, but even more important is the ability to delegate crucial aspects of the business to people who know how to do them better than they do. You can’t become a successful founder alone. And your competence won’t be recognized unless you shout your successes from the mountaintops, demanding recognition.

To be a founder, you have to be incredibly comfortable with uncertainty. Every day is highly varied and unique. As an employee, your days are fairly consistent. You start your day, do similar activities each day, and develop a deep expertise in those actions. But a founder needs to be more of a generalist, capable of rapidly and constantly learning new things to a point of competence but probably not excellence. Maybe you’re great at building apps but not at building publicity campaigns. You’ll still need to develop at least an intermediate understanding of the widely varied, often unrelated, skills necessary to make your company flourish, then hire someone who can do it even better than you to take it further. Unless you know the basics, you won’t know what to look for in that next hire, or how to properly recognize the difference between good and great.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

Confidence in your abilities. Recognize what you’re best at and double-down on these strengths. Conversely, be sure to reflect upon your weaknesses. Recognizing where you have gaps in skillset will allow you to recognize the roles you need to hire for first.
Comfort with uncertainty. I can guarantee you that every day will be different from the last. You’ll have to put out more fires than you could ever dream of. So be prepared to roll with the punches and make constant adjustments to your strategy.
A genuine excitement for learning. No matter how prepared you are, you will have to learn new things, constantly. If you are the type of person who approaches every opportunity with a growth mindset, no matter the outcome of our business, you’ll come out a winner.
Extreme patience. You can’t predict the future. Things may work out exactly as you’d planned, but far more likely, they won’t. You will encounter roadblocks, changes, nay-sayers, critics, exhaustion, and failures. These things are inevitable. But if you trust your gut and believe in what you’re building, you’ll get where you’re going eventually.
A network of other founders. No one can succeed in a vacuum. Having human resources you can connect with is essential. They may be going through the same struggles you are. Or they may help you view things through a completely different perspective. Either way, don’t forget to surround yourself with people who have a similar mission to build something for themselves.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Every single day, I wake up and do my best to ensure that US democracy continues to exist 4, 40, and 400 years from now. We all deserve to have a voice and it’s my mission at VoteAmerica to make sure every single voice is heard.

To bring the greatest good for all of us in the future, we need to work together to address climate change. I believe passionately in a fully engaged electorate, in building a world which is by the people, of the people, and for the people. But it’s crucial that we also protect the planet which we all occupy. Otherwise there may not be a future world for us to cast our votes in.

I would love to meet the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. Not only did she become the world’s youngest leader of a free nation when she took office, but then she was also the second elected world leader to give birth while in office, but then she went ahead and also did an exceptional job managing the COVID-19 pandemic in her country (while simultaneously raising an infant, alone). We could all learn some valuable lessons in time management and personal fortitude from her, without a doubt.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Female Founders: Debra Cleaver of VoteAmerica On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Patricia Del Gavio: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Create a work space that you can call your own. This is especially important since working from home has become a part of the new normal. It doesn’t even need to be a space you spend tens of thousands to create. It should be a designated space and should NOT be a space you have to move dishes or laundry to work!!! It needs to be a space you can leave intact at the end of each day. It could be as simple as a bridge in front of a window alcove, a bookcase that has a deeper shelf to sit at, a repurposed niche or closet, or a section of the living room or guest room you never use!! Remove yourself from the everyday activities and take time alone!

As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Patricia Del Gavio.

Pat Del Gavio is a design firm principal with more than 20 years of experience in Interior design, project coordination + oversight and furnishings + fixtures in the greater Bay Area and Colorado.

She’s passionate about supporting busy, dynamic homeowners and executives to design, plan + furnish their dream project(s) from inception through installation and delivering a customized, intentionally-designed home and office environments.

Pat works closely with clients, realtors and building owners designing and furnishing office spaces, consciously tracking current trends and enjoys hiking, travel in Europe and flyfishing.

Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Yes, I’ll tell you the story that brought me to this career. It was desire for freedom to create my own path. I’d moved cross country to California from New Jersey. I was trying to find an opportunity, having studied business and worked for a clothing manufacturer, I was wide open! I tried the employment agency route and scanning the job pages. Then all of a sudden one day, here it was, this ad caught my eye, it read,

“Be Your own boss, make your own hours, great income”. well… what’s not to love there!

So here I go… I called to make an appointment for an interview.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

Turns out it was a gentleman who wanted to create an office furniture dealership! I knew nothing about this but have total confidence I can do anything and we could accomplish this.

I did get the job. I was initially responsible for researching and meeting with manufacturers and developing the lines of products we would sell our corporate customers. I eventually hired the team to sell them too! This all came about because I didn’t have any fear of stepping outside of my comfort zone to lead and to take ownership.

It did give me everything the ad promised and more, and eventually my career, which has continued for years to bring me joy and satisfaction.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of the not so funniest blips we made was designing this huge custom reception station for the Gap Corporate office. It didn’t fit into the elevator to get to the second floor! Oops!! We delivered it back to the manufacturer who felt some responsibility for not offering any advice at the time of fabrication. They were able to make several pieces which could be assembled in the field. Saved by the saw!! I use the measure twice and three times ever since.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

I have successfully ventured from commercial office furniture and design projects, to mid to higher end home design, construction coordination and furnishing We’re currently working in the Bay Area and Colorado, on the design of custom homes with all kinds of interesting features. To name a few, we have one home with a glass elevator inside a spiral glass staircase, they also have an interior climbing wall. We designed a custom 3 story tall light fixture last year interior atriums open to the sky or sky lighted to the outside. I absolutely love working on diverse projects and creating the most comfortable exciting environments that bring joy to my clients. We’re working in mid-century, contemporary and currently an English country style home design. We’re often spending time creating home and office environments to manage the Pandemic considerations that really need to be taken to enable folks to feel safe. We encourage our clients to enjoy these times safely and find their own comfort level with family inside and out of their home.

This has really served us well in changing times, meaning if office business was slower, residential boomed. And this is the case of the last 2 COVID years…. Our corporate business is on the rise again, there is a growing comfort level in the Bay Area but we’ll proceed slowly with caution.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

One of my favorite Life Lesson Quotes is “What can be conceived, can be created” I learned this from a past employer who sadly isn’t with us any longer, way too young! It was adapted from Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. He would say it all the time when we needed strength to do step outside the box.

I came from a small town, I had to have my own initiative and incentive, I wasn’t really pushed to achieve a goal. My parents told me I could do anything I set my mind to, and because of this I had no fear. This businessman was the one who gave me the opportunity I mentioned, helped me find my career path. He was the first person who believed in me enough to allow me to branch out, stretch my abilities and very quickly succeed. It was dedication and consistency, to power on and be inquisitive. It’s important to ask questions, obtain answers and truly make happiness happen! I wish for you to find the inspiration from within.

Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

This is an interesting topic. First, we realize ion order to have true joy in your living space it comes from within and the family and friends you surround yourself with.

We can enhance an environment and build out spaces by including the effect of lighting, play of color, furnishing and textures to help you enjoy the space, also to feel happy and healthy, it requires an additional regiment which includes rest, exercise and diet.

Thank you, these are 5 Things you can do to help your living space spark more joy!

Tip Number 1:

Plan to take on a home enhancement project. We spend more time there; we can make it shine! Here is a handy guideline to follow and guarantee your success.

1. Understand what it is you’re trying to accomplish. This may include the room location + scope + tasks.

2. Consider and create your aesthetic. What makes you feel good, relaxed, excited, or energized. Do you like contemporary, traditional, mid-century or a bohemian vibe? Let’s create a mood board or houzz.com idea book. I think boards are a really good way to hone in on the choices. There are so many options, it’s incredible.

3. Spend time space planning to ensure you purchase the right scale fit, not just what looks pretty, and comfort is key.

4. Timeline, have a goal of when you would like to start and finish, ensure you source items available in the time you want them.

5. Budget, allocate most of your budget to essential items that really impact the way you feel and live in the space

We have been in not so well thought out spaces with huge light fixtures or tiny chairs for large people. It can often save to hire an interior designer. By being excited to start your mission and preparing in advance, it is the way to make it yours.

We find if we read all of the details in the description of the items it will help to make the right choice.

Tip Number 2:

Create a work space that you can call your own. This is especially important since working from home has become a part of the new normal. It doesn’t even need to be a space you spend tens of thousands to create. It should be a designated space and should NOT be a space you have to move dishes or laundry to work!!! It needs to be a space you can leave intact at the end of each day. It could be as simple as a bridge in front of a window alcove, a bookcase that has a deeper shelf to sit at, a repurposed niche or closet, or a section of the living room or guest room you never use!! Remove yourself from the everyday activities and take time alone!

For many of us, remember, it’s the place that you spend many of your waking hours, you want to love YOUR space, it’s been gratifying to be able to bring the elements of commercial, productive work spaces into the personal aspect of someone’s home –including adjustability and comfort above all

Tip Number 3:

Add a fresh coat of paint! Have you walked into a room, looked at your walls and seen that they can use a fresh coat, the corners may be scratched from the vacuum or they are just dull!
I’d head straight to the paint store or call a professional.

Decide the color scheme that can work for you and your overall color theme. are you most comfortable in spring, summer, fall, or winter colors? Summer colors are bright cool, and winter muted cool tones, spring tones are bright warm colors and autumn is muted warm. Confused? Do a little google search into the season of color.

You can choose a clean white versus color. Now the joy and fun begins, once its painted.

find fun art work that speaks to you. I’d suggest you sort through the albums of photos. Is it a family photo wall, or enlarged photos of the last vacation you’d like to remember? Maybe the next trip photos to inspire you to plan and look forward will spark your interest?

It looks well planned to add a common color or same sized picture frames to make them all cohesive and warm your heart!

What makes you smile when you see it is the perfect choice. Surround yourself with the memories and people you love to share it all with!

Tip Number 4:

Are you spending more time at home in the living room?

Rearrange the furniture, it’s free. Or replace that old sofa and chairs! Carve out a space for a game table or larger coffee table for your next project, puzzle or game. You can make it more convenient to spend time with your loved ones to play chess, dominos or cards. good old-fashioned fun never goes out of style. I like to think that interactions over these planned gatherings bring closeness to your relationships and build traditions.

If you aren’t in the mode to break the budget, simply add pillows, find textures, patterns and colors that you haven’t used before and in combinations that are fun!! Add a lamp or arcing light fixture, floor style that will add a warm ambiance to the room. You can benefit by selecting light color temperatures that will be soothing like a 2700 to 300K warm light. You will immediately notice the difference and feel the joy.

I receive more and more new furniture and bedding catalogs. There are several style and price ranges available. Have you noticed when you scan through them, you might think it all looks so special lovely and fresh? Do you want to tag many of the pages? I want this and that and this looks cool! Well surprise, look closely, the basic colors are neutral. It’s all in the accents and accessories!

Make it your own and select items that tie in and flow through out your living spaces. It will feel larger and well connected.

Tip Number 5:

I would highly suggest you create an intimate cozy nest in your bedroom, why not re-dress your bed! Splurge, it’s where you spend possibly 1/3 of your life. Select bed sheets with the higher thread counts. You might try 400 or more thread count, it is wonderful. You will feel how smooth they seem and they also last forever so the little extra cost is worth it. Next add a new blanket or comforter and bed pillows. Pillows don’t last forever after all, it’s best to replace them every few years. You can add comfort to your nights rest when you tuck that spare pillow under your arm or knees. So, while you add a few layers to your pillows for fun, top it all with some accent throw pillows and a throw blanket. You can freshen up and create a haven.

While you’re the bedroom, trim down the closet contents, dust off the nightstands and add a bookshelf or a lamp. These items can be had inexpensively if you like or search for a special one too

We have researched and enjoyed for years, a special linen shop in NY and also one in Italy, which sits at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome. During our travels, we wandered in we have purchased glorious bedding.

I can dream of it now, just slipping in between the sheets, it’s heavenly. We can enjoy in addition to the comfort of cotton, the memories of selecting the perfect color and interacting with the clerk who helped, and carrying them or shipping back. It was a lovely adventure that brings joy still. And then again you can find them in your local shop and love them just as much if travel isn’t your thing. The point is that we create our own destiny and spark, and “What can be conceived, can be created”

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Thank you for asking, if I could find a way to start a movement, It would be to stop resource waste and find more ways to truly and actually recycle household and office furniture items. We should find a way to supply the excess we have to those in need.

We demo and remodel often and the amount of waste is beyond belief. Our landfills are full. The agencies that in the past recycled household goods aren’t willing to take most of the products any longer. The Habitat like firms are closing and if it’s not perfect it isn’t recycled. We try and find a home for products and it is nearly impossible to find that home!!

My personal desire is that we all care for the rivers, streams and great outdoors to keep them safe for the next generation

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them 🙂

Well, it’s a bit late but I would have loved meeting with Frank Lloyd Wright. His form and function were so inspiring. I love that he worked the outside environment into his projects and used materials that were found in nature nearby.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delgaviogroup/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DelGavioGroup/

Houzz: https://www.houzz.com/pro/pdelgavio/del-gavio-group

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!

Patricia Del Gavio: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Lizabeth Wesely-Casellam of L-12 Services On The Five Things You Need To Thrive…

Female Founders: Lizabeth Wesely-Casellam of L-12 Services On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Creativity — This is the lifeblood of your founder’s journey. Creativity in products and services is only the beginning. Creativity will help you find funding, focus your messaging, solve crises, streamline workflows, and help you attract high caliber talent. Creativity is the common denominator for founders.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lizabeth Wesely-Casella.

Lizabeth Wesely-Casella is the Founder and CEO of L-12 Services LLC, a firm specializing in internal communications training focused on workflow, processes, and culture. She works alongside her clients as a strategic advisor to create clarity from chaos through streamlined systems, meaningful internal communications strategies, and hands-on support and training for company leaders. Throughout her career, Lizabeth’s work has created lasting positive impact and powerful change across a wide spectrum of clients, from nonprofit organizations to civilian-military lead organizations.

We have to go pretty far back for the beginning of the backstory; over 45 years back, as a matter of fact. It all started with process improvement in a fabric store, and I was about four years old.

Back then, my mom made a lot of our clothes and frequently took me with her to shop for patterns, fabric and sewing materials. Now imagine the reaction of the women at the sales counter when she let me loose, unattended, in the thread aisle. Cross expressions, lots of huffing, and a palpable expectation that this child was going to cause chaos. What they didn’t know, and my mom did, was that my entertainment had nothing to do with creating a furious thread rainbow. Rather, I’d entertain myself by returning the correct color bobbins to the designated tracks. I essentially performed the inventory for the sales team as a means to entertain myself while my mom shopped.

Fast forward to the legal age of employment, and that same fascination landed me jobs, promotions and increasingly exciting opportunities. From commercial construction, to nonprofits, to advocacy and health programs, I’ve found that my greatest contribution is providing unique solutions to the challenges of burnout and overwhelm.

Pattern recognition, streamlining, intuition, and empathy–those skills have served me well and enabled me to design business ecosystems that save time, reduce costs, and improve culture. I’ve been honored to help businesses retain and attract high-caliber talent through exceptional teamwork and outstanding environments.

Part organizational development, part Six Sigma, part Lean philosophy and a lot of listening, I grew a business that focuses on mining solutions from within, rather than looking outside for ‘off the shelf’ answers and one-size-fits-all tools.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting, and arguably pivotal, event in my journey as a founder is the work I performed rewriting a health policy for First Lady Obama’s Let’s Move! program. It was the result of eating disorders and weight stigma prevention advocacy, and though it was late in the life cycle of that Administration, I found my sweet spot–leading divergent groups in a common cause by organizing and refining information.

Our coalition was comprised of community leaders who oppose weight stigma messaging but who also view the behaviors surrounding weight and weight loss through significantly different lenses. For example, the eating disorders and obesity prevention communities are on opposite sides of the conversation related to health metrics, and because of this, finding common language and common ground was a challenge. Guiding these passionate leaders through a process of collaboration was a challenge, but in the end, that opportunity helped me identify the ways I wanted to use my skills and the value of sharing that experience with organizations and teams.

This is an excellent question, but I would argue that the statistics are potentially way off if we are asking the question in 2021. Why? Because the pandemic has shifted the entrepreneurial landscape dramatically. We are currently in the beginning stages of what some are calling the Great Resignation, and women make up an increasingly significant part of the workforce leaving employee positions to start their own business. I predict that by 2023 we will see an increase in not only funded female-owned businesses, but also in six, seven, and eight figure businesses with female founders.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

Women have reevaluated what they want for a work-life balance. They (we) also have access to programs and a social justice message unlike any other time in recent history. The climate is right for women to make great strides in business, especially as entrepreneurs.

My work regularly connects me with established businesses, so something that I hear quite often is, “I wish we would have thought of this, or built this, from the beginning.” With that in mind, I think that individuals who are thoughtful about building their business and structured in their growth, avoid a lot of problems. What that means in concrete terms is, whether a person wants to build a solopreneur business, or a business with additional teammates, starting out with structure is wise. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are as valuable in a One Woman Shop as much as they are in teams. They help us identify inefficiency and increase standardization. Similarly, memorialized policies and strategic plans keep any size business on track and focused for significant periods of time.

Both of these documented practices will also help down the road if funding is on the table. Investors want to know what you do, how you do it, and what you’ve tried historically, so record keeping is also a way to fast track your proposal materials.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Ruth Bader-Ginsburg was once asked, “When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court?” Her answer was, “When there are nine.”

She meant that we need to normalize women in positions of power, and in my mind, that relates directly to this question. More women should become founders because business leadership is not a male specific activity. Any woman who wants to become a founder or an entrepreneur should have the opportunity to learn what it takes and do so as she feels capable.

As a non-monolithic talent pool, women offer myriad qualities and benefits to the founders and leader eschalon.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

That “doing it all” is the definition of success. I’m not going to get into the weeds on whether or not a person can do it all, but I will say that most women do not have the resources and support to do so and nail everything at the same time. There is a big difference between doing a lot of things marginally and doing a few things exceptionally well. So if you can, choose the things that are important to you, aligned with your values, and that you feel really good about. Don’t set “doing everything” as the metric for succeeding. Not everything has equal weight or importance. The common storyline is the eternally harried professional, and that means the character is actually failing at the one thing that we all deserve: a successful, enjoyable, life. Take care of yourself, experience the journey, connect with others, read for enjoyment. Whatever “life” is to you, don’t neglect that piece in favor of “all the things.”
The founder gets paid last. Whoever thought this up was only playing at business, not a business person. The founder is arguably the hardest working and most invested person in the business, and they deserve to be paid as much as any sub or vendor. Don’t cheat yourself, and don’t fail to prepare. If you pay yourself, you have money to reinvest during lean times; and if you fail to pay yourself, you are not running a business, you are engaged in a hobby. I encourage all founders to read and practice Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz.
Experts must be serious. Not true. Think about some of the best athletes, scientists, actors, and inventors and the moments that go viral. It’s when they look like they are having fun. So, go ahead and be friendly and approachable. What you throw out to the universe you attract to you, and who doesn’t want happy, fun clients?

Is everyone cut out to be a business leader? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful business owner, and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

I would say that anyone who is interested in starting a business, educated about the risks and skill sets required, can test the waters, but not everyone will want to become an entrepreneur once they know what it takes to be successful. And starting a business is different from being a leader.

I don’t want to dissuade people from learning about what it takes. What I’d encourage people to do is think deeply about the many hats, the demands, and the risks required. There are creative solutions for people who have some skills and not others.

For example, many people who own businesses are not hands-on leaders. Others work strictly within one specialty area, such as external sales or product delivery, and surround themselves with experts to manage the other aspects of the business.

Good leaders get to know their people on a deeper level. They invest time and attention in those people who keep the boat afloat through regular one-on-one meetings, net promoter surveys, walking “the floor”, and mentoring. Leaders with high performing teams are interested and available. If being a successful leader is a goal, the milestones to get there include engagement, respect, and genuine communication.

What I’ve seen our clients develop through our work together, and what I’ve experienced firsthand, is a keen ability to hear what’s not being said and to draw those conversations, solutions, or confidence out for the benefit of all involved.

Confidence — You are going to run into people who don’t understand your business, the value of your service, or don’t agree with you. You must believe deeply in what you are offering so profoundly that you can explain it any number of ways, smile through rejection, and consider constructive criticism without throwing in the towel.
Curiosity — The more you open your mind to the possibility that your product or service can improve, the better you and your business will become. Not all input is appropriate, but listen with curiosity for those nuggets that propel you past your competition.
Courage — You are bringing something new to life. You will hear the word no. People will ghost you. Others will negotiate with you for something you don’t agree with. Stand firm, know your value, work hard, and have the courage of your convictions. You are your own greatest champion, and this is your shot.
Compassion — Listen to your clients, team, and vendors. How can you be valuable? How can you make working with you better/easier/more desirable? How do you want to be perceived by your peers or within the business community? Those businesses that are known, liked, and trusted are the ones who give back to all stakeholders in ways both large and small.
Creativity — This is the lifeblood of your founder’s journey. Creativity in products and services is only the beginning. Creativity will help you find funding, focus your messaging, solve crises, streamline workflows, and help you attract high caliber talent. Creativity is the common denominator for founders.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

We’re reminding our clients and their teams that their workplace ecosystem is a direct reflection on that company’s leadership, as well as its people. It requires each participant bringing their best every day to make that ecosystem thrive. We work with our clients to invest and support their teams through better internal communications, systems development, and more. It’s really about treating employees as investment-worthy parts of the company.

And outside of our client work, we’re always looking for ways to create opportunities for our community. L-12 Services in the process of developing a start-up community support resource for businesses owned by women, minorities, and those with disabilities. The work will center around how to position these young businesses to prevent common workflow and process challenges and what to do when growth threatens existing processes. We also provide internships for those interested in learning how to identify and solve workflows, processes, and culture challenges within corporate environments.

A return to being thoughtful. I would love to see people connect the dots between what they do and say with the behavior of others. It’s not a new concept; it’s pretty much the “everything I learned in kindergarten” idea. But over the last few years, I’ve seen a lot of people act without considering the impact on others.

Whether it’s ghosting a colleague, not showing the respect of paying attention during a meeting, behaving badly toward service providers, or propagating misinformation, our actions toward others have a ripple effect. If we treat one another with respect and kindness, I believe those ripples will move though society just as fast and far.

Vice President Kamala Harris. She is powerful and confident, but compassionate at the same time, which is pretty freaking cool.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Female Founders: Lizabeth Wesely-Casellam of L-12 Services On The Five Things You Need To Thrive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.